<p>Sorry, but that is incorrect. Many colleges may product a Committee Letter, but HC is the only one of which I am aware that makes you apply into the system just to speak with an advisor. Program ‘participants’ also get priority course registration, which means that a prereq could be full by the time regular kids register.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Also incorrect. Anyone can be premed at BC, just send an e-mail to the Admin and she’ll add you to the distribution list. Advising is open anytime to everyone. Yes, BC does produce a Committee letter, but one does not apply into the advising program. BC does not give registration preferences to “approved” premeds. With its Core requirement, BC believes in liberal arts and requires everyone to enroll in the sciences. Course registration is done by class, with seniors getting first priority…BC even works with low gpa students who don’t want to give up the dream and provides a Committee Letter to support their applications to Special Master’s programs. (SMPs).</p>
<p>While HC’s program does a great job at boosting its numbers, it just seems to be to be the direct opposite of what a liberal arts college should be about. At $55k/year, advising should be open to all. Otherwise, it ain’t much different than the advising available at a poor public Uni.</p>
<p>stats are 3.66 gpa unweighted (not sure how to weigh it but i’m taking 2 honors classes) not including art and stuff like that. I got an 800 on the math sat subject tests (1 and 2). I did some act practice tests and consistently get between a 32 and a 34. I can’t take any ap sciences until my senior year just cause of how the school works. Next year I’m (hopefully) taking 2 ap’s, us history and psych. I go to one of the most academically challenging private schools in NJ if that means anything.</p>
<p>also when i mean accepted into the premed program I mean that at some schools (most of what I know about college comes from brother who went through this process 3 years ago) don’t allow just anyone to take the courses in the premed path.<br>
I plan on taking the act once early junior year and depending on how I do on that I’ll take the SAT in December of junior year. I qualified for national merit as a sophomore but only juniors can qualify >:-o.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make any sense. The premed prereqs include primarily intro courses, Frosh Chem, Frosh/Soph Bio, Frosh English, Frosh math, Frosh Physics (if not calc-based). Every Department Chair wants more students taking classes in his/her department. (The more students in classes, the more money the Admin will have to give to his/her dept.) </p>
<p>As a small college, HC must be capacity constrained so it gives registration priority to those in the “program.”</p>
<p>ya but HC prides itself on having one of the top med school acceptance rates in the country so if they allow just anyone to take the classes the rates will go down which in turn lowers the prestige so i’m not sure. i get what your saying about having more students taking the classes though.</p>
<p>Among HC’s distinguished medical alumni are a Nobel Prize winner, a leader of the NIH and recent Harvard honorary degree holder, several medical school deans. A great boast to Holy Cross is its state of the art science building and school sponsored science internships.</p>
<p>It’s a liberal arts college. The intro sciences are part of the liberal arts tradition. Limiting folks from taking intro science courses is the opposite of a “liberal education” IMO. Lit/hume majors should be encourage to enroll in Frosh Chem, not restricted from doing same.</p>
Even if there is no issue getting classes, another issue is whether you have any kind of fair shot at med school if you go to HC and you are not accepted into their advisory program. And even bigger is the committee letter.</p>
<p>There are 2 ways a school can have amazing med school admit rates. The first is to start with very smart kids. Its no suprise Stanford and the like have high med school admit rates; look at the kids that get into undergrad. The 2nd is by screening; given the normal range of college kids that should have normal results, only allow the top ones to apply. </p>
<p>Someone at HC would have the answer to the question of whether they’ll even consider you for a committee letter if you weren’t accepted into their advising program, and they make no bones about picking the best students for that program. But even if you can just sign up for the med school required classes and then ask for a letter, it should be clear from the HC success rate that they only will recommend students that are real standouts.</p>
<p>I have met quite a few doctor’s and a dentist recently that went to Holy Cross since I’m in a medical environment. They all felt they had a good foundation for later work in med school. When I asked one of them about the somewhat harsh screening some students feel they are under, he said, some schools might let anyone apply knowing they will get rejected, but this process is the same in many schools, not just Holy Cross, your reputation is important, not just to incoming students, but to medical schools. If they know the students you are sending them are good candidates (and that doesn’t mean perfect GPA, it entails a lot of things) you are more likely to get good results.</p>
<p>I seriously doubt it. I’ve been tracking premed for a long time and have never run across such a restrictive program. Yes absolutely it is a big plus for those in the program with strong numbers (gpa+mcat). Of course, the exact same is true for anyone at a LAC with strong numbers. And the same would be true for a strong senior at HC with a less restrictive program. Or even a Uni with a Committee Letter, for that matter. BlueDevilMike has posted frequently on cc about his experience with the Committee in Durham. Strong numbers are strong numbers. </p>
<p>The difference is that HC feels the need to boost it’s own personal numbers at the risk of reducing options for its incoming students. Again, not very welcoming (or Jesuit-like).</p>
Isn’t this just an argument that med school committees are not competent at choosing the right students, so they’re happy when the college does it for them?</p>
<p>Personally, I think colleges ought to put together the committee letter and send it on for all students that ask for it. And plenty do just that. After spending $200K on 4 years at HC, it seems to me only fair that if you want to apply to med school that you do so with their full backing (and blessing, being a Jesuit school) regardless of your chances. After all if your chances are only 20% then if you and 4 similar friends apply then 1 of you is in. But with the screening at HC none of you 5 apply and nobody gets in med school.</p>
<p>If numbers were strong and other factors, I would think HC or any college would give a rec, but if they weren’t, aren’t they setting up a stage to fail? I don’t know enough about this, only have a friend with a son there, but I suppose, even with a lot of medical schools, competition is fierce. What a doctor told me who went to a good state college over 20 years ago, he had the same thing, no rec unless they thought you were ready, in maturity and grades, etc. He had to interview and was reminiiscing at the stress, which later was nothing compared to other things. </p>
<p>I heard although it’s a different major, one mother on these forums say her son couldn’t get a rec from a UPenn professor for business school because he thought he wasn’t ready (grades were fine) He wanted him to work a year or two. He did, I thought it wasn’t fair, so did he, but he realized later, rec in hand and acceptances, he was right. He needed time to settle down.</p>
<p>I agree, I feel for the pre-meds, but there might be something they know about getting admitted that I don’t.</p>
<p>okay thanks for all your feedback guys
so i guess what im getting is that anyone can take the classes but after a certain point you will be accepted/declined to the advising program. From that select group you get a committee letter or recs and can apply to med school.
is that about right?</p>
<p>Holy Cross has enjoyed a great pre-med reputation for decades and prepared its students well for placement into the top medical schools. The fact that a selective LAC has invested so much into its new science building can only enhance its reputation for years ahead.</p>
